Sheep farmers yesterday called on dog owners to match them in providing identification for their animals. This follows complaints from dog owners that too many stray animals were being put down.
Mr Frank Corcoran, chairman of the Irish Farmers Association (IFA) national sheep committee, said tens of thousands of pounds worth of damage and misery was being caused by unmanaged dogs annually.
"We have to identify each individual sheep in the seven million animals we rear but dog owners, who have a legal requirement to do so, have failed to provide identification for many years.
"In the country a dead dog belongs to no one and we want to change that immediately. An owner must be responsible for the damage its animal causes," he said.
"Already this year there have been numerous attacks on flocks of sheep by stray dogs which have damaged sheep. They have also left the farmers who own them out of pocket and in great misery," he said.
Mr Corcoran, said that already this year flocks of sheep on the Curragh, Co Kildare, in Wicklow, Waterford and in Limerick have been savaged by stray dogs.
"The most high-profile case so far this year has been the killing of 25 sheep which belonged to John Dillon, the deputy president of the IFA, who is running for presidency," he said.
"I love dogs myself and could not work without them but all animals must be kept under control and our experience is that too few owners keep their dogs under control."